The invention relates to a printing image carrier for surface printing having a hydrophilic surface on which ink accepting elements may be applied by the acting of heat and pressure.
The German Pat. No. 3,248,178 describes printing image carriers of this type on which deletion is possible and which may be modified within the printing press for changing the printing image. In the known system a heating and pressing head and a thermotransfer foil are used to transfer hydrophobic surface elements to the hydrophilic surface of the printing image carrier under the action of heat and pressure. The heating and pressing head produces heat at given points so that with the aid of the thermotransfer foil individual ink accepting dots are applied to the hydrophilic surface.
However it has been found that the areas so applied in this manner are not homogeneously hydrophobic and furthermore do not have clear-cut boundaries.